“Fringe” has literally entered a new era with its currently airing fourth season. Following the explosive events of the season three finale, Peter Bishop (Joshua Jackson) has been erased from existence. The result: a brand new timeline for Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv) and the rest of her colleagues, one in which Peter — both the one from our universe and the one from over there — never survived to adulthood.

Torv stopped by MTV News earlier in the week to talk about the new season of “Fringe,” and we asked her to tease what’s going down in tonight’s fourth episode, titled “Subject 9.” Though she initially had some trouble dropping hints — “I’m just such a bad tease,” she laughed — she did offer a very tantalizing clue regarding how Olivia’s past has changed in light of this new continuity.

“Episode four, you get to see Walter and Olivia and how they’ve managed to come to terms with each other and how they work together,” she told MTV. “You see a lot. You see the changed relationships between a couple of our main characters. And there are quite a few clues as to what happened in Olivia’s past with the Cortexiphan trials in this timeline.”

Revisiting the Cortexiphan trials, eh? Suddenly, tonight’s title, “Subject 9,” makes a whole lot of sense. The title of last season’s “Subject 13″ referred to Olivia during the early phases of Walter Bishop and William Bell’s Cortexiphan experiments, but in this new, Peter-less timeline, has Olivia’s numerical assignment in the trial changed?

More importantly, let’s not forget that Olivia and Peter met each other briefly during those Cortexiphan trials, with Peter playing a key role during a dark moment of Olivia’s life. With Peter gone, how will that influence the way this pivotal moment in Olivia’s childhood played out? Will we find out in tonight’s episode?

The answers are just hours away. “Fringe” airs tonight (October 14) at 9/8 central on Fox.

This Friday on Fringe (Fox, 9/8c), Olivia herself is the target of a fringe event when a strange entity –- an energy, if you will –- invades her apartment. Is this Peter’s way of not-so-subtly tapping on his lover’s shoulder? Is our boy ready to “exist” again and make himself known? Anna Torv stopped by the TVLine office in New York City to preview this episode, “Subject 9,” which among other things reveals how this new timeline tweaks the Cortexiphan mythology as well as Olivia’s connection to a familiar face.

TVLINE | Would you say that this week’s episode is where Season 4 really kicks off? Now that we’ve laid the groundwork for the new timeline?
Yes, all of the little bits and pieces come into place – especially as regards the whole question of “When is Peter Bishop going to make an appearance?” This is also one of the first times that John [Noble, Walter] and I have had a whole bunch of stuff to do together.

TVLINE | Is this the “enormous” Walter/Olivia adventure John teased last week?
Yeah, yeah. So that was so much fun to do, because we never get to do that stuff. And also in this new timeline, the relationship between Walter and Olivia is just a little closer, because Peter wasn’t around. So that was probably my favorite bit of this episode.

TVLINE | Their adventure takes them to, where, Massive Dynamic in New York City?
No, it’s a bigger adventure than that! [Laughs] But…. Oh, I’m terrible at teasing. John’s really good at it.

TVLINE | John Noble is great at it.
He’s good because he knows which little things to say that don’t give away the end. I tend to always go in circles.

TVLINE | What sort of emotions does Olivia go through in this episode? Obviously something is not right, and this “energy” may have a personal agenda involving her.

Something is not right, and she’s not quite sure what it is. You get a title bit of an insight into what Olivia’s past was like in this world, and what the Cortexiphan trials were to her in this world, which was slightly different.

Poor Peter Bishop (Joshua Jackson). He seemingly disappeared into thin air after serving his purpose and uniting the two universes in the Season 3 finale of Fringe. Now, once he does return, no one will remember who he is, and will actually think he’s as crazy as Walter. (The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, eh?)

“You see a man come back to a life and people that he knew, but they don’t know him,” Anna Torv says of Peter’s return. “He’s a stranger to everyone, except he knows a lot of stuff.”

Though the Fringe Division doesn’t remember who Peter Bishop is, he still retains his memories of them. “It really is as though he never existed,” Lance Reddick says. “So when he shows up claiming all these things and knowing all these things, it’s really freaky. Broyles’ attitude is that it’s possible what he’s saying is true, but the last place I’m going to go is to believe him… at least at first.”

Reddick was coy to say whether that means they’ll lock Peter up for his crazy theories, but Peter will eventually earn their trust. “It has to reach a point where there’s so much validity to the information that he has and the way that he helps, that over time, he’s given more and more trust and more and more freedom to operate, work and help.”

Gaining the trust of Olivia, who has never put much faith in anyone, will be a different beast altogether, prolonging — what we believe to be — an eventual reconciliation between the pair. “In this timeline, Olivia doesn’t know who he is, and in Peter’s timeline, it took them a long time to get together, so…” Torv says with a laugh, understanding fans’ frustrations.

Even when Peter returns, he may have some competition in this universe’s Lincoln (Seth Gabel), who’s universal counterpart had feelings for Bolivia. “It seems to be happening again,” Gabel says. “Initially, when Lincoln met Olivia in our universe, obviously the conditions were very intense in that his partner was just killed, but they immediately had a very good connection and became partners pretty quickly and found that they really saw eye-to-eye. As we go along, we’ll see that relationship open up a little more.”

“Those feelings seem to cross universes,” Gabel continues, noting that Alt-Lincoln’s feelings for Bolivia are also still intact despite a major change in the timeline. “Obviously the timeline is a bit different now and she didn’t end up having a baby, so they didn’t have that moment when he said ‘I love you,’ but that love, I believe, is still there,” he says. “Alt-Lincoln definitely still has feelings for her, which she bounces off as, ‘Oh yeah, you’re a great kid.’ That definitely continues.”

Speaking of the baby, it’s not likely that Henry will return to the series unless the timeline reverts back. “It’s not possible if they’ve never met,” Torv says of Peter and Bolivia’s baby. “Unless we end up going back to the other timeline, which may happen.”

Despite Lincoln’s growing presence, Gabel insists that his character is not there to replace Peter. “It’s been a big thing for me to have Lincoln never be a factor that is threatening to replace Peter,” he says. “Obviously, with the lack of Peter, that concept is threatening to the audience and the world of Fringe. Peter’s a voice the show needs and certainly can’t be replaced, that’s there to be above it all, and at the same time, very much in it, and ultimately, the hero that will save it, as he did last season. In terms of Lincoln and Peter coming back, I think there’s definitely room for both of them.”

One’s returning to TV, another is switching shows and they all have a lot to say about fight scenes, Twitter and going incognito at the annual convention.

That’s one of many revelations to come out of our June 24 conversation with Gellar (the CW’s suspense thriller Ringer), Jennifer Morrison (ABC’s fairy tale drama Once Upon a Time), Britt Robertson (the CW’s supernatural series The Secret Circle), Yvonne Strahovski (NBC’s Chuck), Maggie Q (the CW’s Nikita) and Anna Torv (Fox’s Fringe).

THR: Did you put on a costume and go in?ANNA TORV: I went and had a look around the first year that I went down there. The show wasn’t on the air yet and everybody was at our panel to hear J.J. [Abrams] speak, so I was quite fine to go and have a look. And then, you know, it changes bit by bit. It’s one of the few opportunities that you actually get to sit and talk to people who watch your show and have an interaction with them.

THR: What is the best or craziest fan encounter you’ve ever had?

YVONNE STRAHOVSKI: I was at New York Comic-Con. I was the only castmember with our two creators, and somebody came up and gave me a teddy bear, and then it sort of started this whole thing where people wanted to gift me things at the table.

GELLAR: I’m a size 6-1/2 shoe …

Q: I love jewelry!

MORRISON: If you bring me jewelry, I will tweet you back.

ROBERTSON: I just started [tweeting] two days ago. It’s scary.

TORV: I did it on our showrunner’s account. I can’t believe how the world changes.

THR: Do you have to tweet on behalf of your shows?

TORV: I think genre shows are really the only place where it is so beneficial. I know that our writers, producers and showrunners sit and read Twitter and check out all of the boards, and it becomes this intellectual dance with the fans.

GELLAR: But it’s also like, “He who speaks loudest gets heard.”

TORV: You have always gotten feedback, but it’s just so instantaneous now. I think that the filter they use is still the same filter that they would have used before. It’s like everyone had such a big issue with reality TV when it first happened. It was like, “Oh my God, reality TV.” But you look at it, and here we are. It means that scripted drama has to get better.

Q: It has to be more reality-based than it ever has been …

TORV: Well, no, I think it means that it could be heightened. I think what it means is because there is a lot of that reality stuff, you don’t want to watch shows where people just stare at each other and say, “Yeah, then he dumped me.” You want to watch stuff that’s emotionally uplifting, heightened, fantastical or sci-fi.

THR: If you could do a superhero show, which would you do?

GELLAR: Don’t feel pressure to say Buffy, guys.

THR: They tried to do a Wonder Woman pilot, and it failed.

GELLAR: Don’t say failed. That’s not fair to all the people who worked hard on it.
THR: It didn’t get picked up. But is there a way to make Wonder Woman work in the 21st century?

TORV: Oh gosh, that’s what I used to play when I was little. I would run to the end of the street.

THR: For many of you, these are new or recently renewed shows. Take us back to the moments before you got the official word. What were you feeling?

GELLAR: Oh, it’s cruel. It’s cruel. It’s the worst process. You are literally standing by a phone and they really don’t tell you until the night before, unless you are in New York. You are literally waiting, and you don’t want to pack a suitcase. I think what they do is secretly have all of the flights reserved under all of the actors’ names who they might pick up. I remember having to give all of our information ahead of time

ROBERTSON: It’s so funny that they do it so late in the process.

Q: The CW, especially!

TORV: The casting as well. You get cast two, three days before you’re about to shoot. And establishing a character at that point that you don’t realize you could play for four years, it’s like, my goodness!

THR: What is the biggest challenge or frustration of working in the TV business, for you?

MORRISON: The hours on a drama are just nasty.

Q: I worked for a producer on my show who Sarah worked with on Buffy. It was like six months in, and I wanted to kill myself …

GELLAR: Ah, Buffy the Weekend Slayer. … The thing I’m grateful for is that I don’t have to do the stunts anymore. In the Ringer pilot, I was the one who got knocked down. My entire stunt was getting knocked around. The producers and directors were so nervous; they wanted to use the stunt double and use pads.

Q: The physicality is so hard. It is the hardest thing you can do. Then you also get a 60-page script every nine days, and you’re the lead and you’re doing action. It’s almost impossible. I nearly had a meltdown in the first season.

TORV: You can surely get hit in the head and go into a coma, can’t you?

THR: Comic-Con, in particular, seems to have played an important role for certain shows that have struggled in the ratings. Anna and Yvonne, what has the event meant for your series?

TORV: We have such loyal and vocal fans, and that’s why we’re going again. Comic-Con is such a fantastic forum for that because you get to meet them and talk to them.

Last night Anna Torv & John Noble were honored by The Paley Center for Media as the organization presented An Evening with “Fringe” — where the stars talked to a rapt room full of actors and show devotees about their experiences on Fox’s sci-fi phenomenon.

But before they took the stage, Anna & John exclusively talked to PopWrap about the season three finale, what they think it means for their characters and where they hope things go in season four!

PopWrap: Congratulations on a truly incredible season finale — what did you think of it?
John Noble: I loved it. The script was evolving as we were doing it too – in particular, the ending with Peter evaporating. That was kind of a light thought that came in at one point and just made everyone say, “whoa.” But scripts often evolve like that, especially as they built the trilogy of episodes at the end of this season. So many things were happening, it was kind of mind boggling and very exciting, but kind of insane.

PW: Do you understand what happened?Anna Torv: I do, but I’m not quite sure where it’s going.John: At a psychological level, I absolutely understand it. For Walter/Walternate, I see them as the same man, so psychologically, I do understand. In dreams this happens, in other mental states this happens. So it doesn’t concern me that we do a literal representation that’s in another mind dimension, we all have those things.

PW: What excites you about the potential this universe bridge opens up for season four?
Anna: So much! I don’t know for sure, we haven’t talked to the showrunners yet, but I would think this obviously means her baby doesn’t exist. I’m also curious to the concept of, “How much pain has Peter caused Olivia over the last three seasons?” Now, who is she without ever having experienced that? What kind of shifts will the characters make without Peter in our lives? But simultaneously how are we going to find him?

PW: I would imagine it also means you’ll be playing both versions of your characters a lot more next year.
John: I think so too, and that is such a gift as an actor.Anna: I love it. I’m also excited because we seen a lot of interaction between the characters, which we will now that they’re in the same world. Also, with Lincoln too! I know Seth [Gabel] is coming back!John: Oh, he’s so great!Anna: It’ll be fun to see him on both sides as well.

PW: That could get messy for Fauxlivia!John: Well she hasn’t committed to him yet!Anna: That’s true! Maybe Olivia will get her back and date Lincoln! She needs some love too [laughs].

PW: Tonight is all about the actorly part of “Fringe” and obviously these dual performances are an excellent example of that. How have you approached it?John: I’ve always seen these characters as the psychological parts of the same man. It’s that melding together – now the pressure is on enough that they have to stop compromising and come together. Because, and this is my personal opinion, but to survive this situation, this man needs to be his very best and that’s a combination of Walter and Walternate. That’s the approach I’m taking to it and it seems to be working. But we’ll know for sure on Thursday, when we talk to the showrunners about season four.

PW: Oh man, you know that fans are going to be stalking your life on Friday now!Anna: [laughs]
John: They’ll tell us just enough to keep us tantalized – that’s what they do.

PW: What are you hoping to talk about?Anna: In that last speech where Peter talked about who brought the parts back – Astrid or Ella – I’m interested in that. I wonder if we’ll do more back and forth with the future.John: I’m excited to continue with the different universes, I like that they’re going to work together. That’s always something we’ve wanted to do – not show a black and white world. This way you don’t automatically choose one side. We work really hard to humanize both sides.

PW: Back to the alternates, do you prefer playing one more than the other?John: I do. I enjoy Walter more because he’s so random. And as an actor, that means I can do whatever I want and get away with it, whereas Walternate is so stitched up. Walter is a lot more fun.Anna: It changes, I vacillate. When Faux-livia first came about I was thrilled not to be in the suit, but then I played Olivia Over There and I loved her during that period. It changes.

PW: Favorite episode this season?John: I loved the one with Christopher Lloyd. It was such a joy to work with him and he was so good in the role.Anna: I actually think “Entrada” – I enjoyed that because I had so much fun stuff to do,. You’re always biased towards things like that. It was my favorite episode to make, I don’t know how it would be watching it.

PW: And lastly, this show has really lived and died by the fans — a very fickle community, it should be said. What kinds of comments have you been hearing from fans?Anna: One of the things I love about doing the show is that anyone who stops me on the street, always asks “what’s happening next?” To be a part of something that’s bigger than you is fun because it means that the show you’re making is the star.John: That’s true. When people stop me on the street, it’s so generous and then “what do you know?” [laughs]. We have incredible fans.

Fringe, the creepy, suspenseful sci-fi series created by J.J. Abrams for Fox, has come into its own in season three. Once derided as an X-Files rip-off, it’s entered mind-bending new territory by introducing a parallel universe known as “Over There.” It now focuses on the struggles between its three main characters – noted fringe scientist Walter Bishop (John Noble), his acerbic son Peter (Joshua Jackson), and FBI investigator Olivia (Anna Torv) – and their sinister doppelgangers.

Torv, a former Australian television star who caused a stir last year when she did a semi-nude photo shoot for Esquire (pictured), has been getting considerable critical notice for the dual role. We spoke to her by phone this week while she was enjoying some downtime at her mom’s house in Queensland, where she grew up, shortly before she was due to head to New York to make an appearance at Fox’s upfront presentation next week.

What did you think when you learned that your role as Olivia had been split into two?
Torv: I was excited to get this new character to play with. Olivia is so serious, so straight and practical and focused on the job, and I’ve quite enjoyed that, actually, but to let go of it a bit with faux-Olivia was a hoot.

Q: It must be a challenge to make them distinct even while faux-Olivia is pretending to be real Olivia, or ‘our Olivia,’ as the shows calls her.
Torv: I tend to work from the inside out, but in this case I started with the external, shifting up the silhouette, changing the shoes, giving her more of a bounce physically. On the inside, the differences are very subtle. I would say, ‘our Olivia’ really wants to be the best, and she feels responsible for everything and everybody, whereas the alternate Olivia just wants to win, and she doesn’t take the world onto her shoulders. You can see how they would end up in the same place, but take different shifts to get there.

Q: Well, they both end up with Peter…
Torv: Yes, and when ‘our Olivia’ comes back and Peter confesses that he’s been having an affair with the other Olivia, it makes her think, “Well, then, I’m just a product of my skin, and you don’t know who is inside of me.” On the other hand, the distinction is not all that great. I didn’t want to play them as opposite sides of a coin. I wanted them both to be true and complete and whole.

Q: Despite their different hairstyles, both Olivias are quite covered up on the show. But you definitely showed yourself off in that Esquire magazine photo shoot.
Torv: The show involves so many leaps of faith that we want to hold true to as many things as we can, so right from the beginning we made sure that Olivia was dressed appropriately, as an FBI agent would be, with flat shoes and a very practical silhouette. As a result of doing the show 14 hours a day, my own wardrobe was even getting a bit conservative and dark. When I flew from Vancouver to L.A. to do that Esquire shoot, it was winter, and I felt like I was seeing sunlight for the first time in months. The whole shoot was built around using that natural morning light. So yes, I came out of my shell. I’ve never been prudish. That shoot was fun.